Plan of Attack!

Zombies are headed our way. My group and I have devised a plan that we feel will be quite strategic in getting rid of these blood-sucking creatures. First, we have reserved a radio spot with a local station. During that radio spot, we will alert the media about the zombies and refer them to local shelters that are set up specifically for this purpose. If they choose to stay home, we also provide a list of things that should be included in a zombie preparation kit. These things include water, non-parishable food items, bandages, and pocket knives. We felt that this idea would be significant because a lot of people listen to the radio. Next, we chose to print colorful, attention-grabbing flyers that we would post all over the city basically detailing these same instructions. These flyers would serve as a visual aid which I feel is very important when trying to persuade someone to do something. The main goal of our presentation is to get the audience to see that this attack is something serious and that we are very passionate about trying to help them get through it. We also want them to be interested in learning more about why has happened and specific pre-cautions to take to ensure that it doesn't happen in the future. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFpOin0j90Q offers a great, effective way of giving presentations. The tips were creative, and I definitely improved.

Fashion....BUST!

Growing up, I have always had a die-heart interest in fashion. I would always play "dress-up" with my mother's clothes, shoes, jewelry, and make-up. As a young lady today, this interest is still very much a part of my life. With amazing local clothing stores such as Forever21, Charlotte Russe, 579, and Body Central, looking fierce is not a hard task. All is takes is a little boldness and confidence. While doing some online browsing, I found that a website that caught my attention. What's so funny about this particular website is that I am a subscribed fan of it. I receive monthly magazines. This website is http://www.seventeen.com/. Seventeen deals with a variety of issues ranging from fashion, boys, dating, real-life situations, community service, and drama. This has been one of my favorite magazines for years. I was quite disappointed when I checked out the website, however. I feel that the website is cluttered and does not flow very well. In addition, the tutorial videos were short and extremely boring. For example, one girl was giving a tutorial on how to apply "cat-eye" to your eyebrows and eyelashes. I could barely understand, and her tips did not work. To other individuals who may not be familiar to the website, it may be pretty persuasive. My letter would go as follows:
         Dear Webmaster,
               I have been a avid fan/supporter of Seventeen magazine for years. I have been a subscription member for numerous years. I recently visited the online website, and I must admit that I was pretty disappointed. In my opinion, the website was kind of cluttered and had entirely too much stuff going on. I would like to offer a few suggestions on how to make the website a little better to understand. First, I think it would be a good idea to add a few more sub-topic tabs. Second, I think it would be a good idea to eliminate the video tutorials or make them more interesting. Honestly, when I watched them I was not persuaded at all or encouraged to try their tips. Last, I think that the community service/real-life situations that are featured in the magazine should be incorporated into the website more. For example, you could display a personal letter from one of the individuals telling the world how she feels and what she would like them to know. Webmaster, I am not trying to be disrespectful at all. I am only trying to offer a few suggestions that would make your already amazing brand be even more amazing! Please consider my points and suggestions. Thank you for your time.
                     Sincerely,
                       A Concerned Fan

ZombieLand!!!! *Approach With Caution* Report

It's 2011, and the setting is Hattiesburg, MS. Everyone says that zombies have been spotted 50 miles from here. The goal of this proposal is to persuade people to support our (The Forrest County Public Safety Dept.) plan. This plan was designed to keep everyone safe and to ensure that the community was as prepared as possible for the zombie attack. The problem is that people are not prepared for a zombie attack. The Forrest County Public Safety Department needs a way to spread awareness of zombie attack procedures among people.
Thus far, my group and I are on schedule with our plan of attack on the zombies. Each person was assigned a specific part of the project to perform. Personally, I was responsible for the introduction and the script for the on-air radio spot. We as a group were planning to have more meetings but were unable to have them due to conflicting time schedules. In my introduction, I set the background for the cause of the problem and gave the community an outlook on what to expect. In my on-air script, I devised a zombie-attack plan where I included certain items that should be included in a kit. These items included non-perishable food items, water, and a first-aid kit. My future work will include a better, slightly revised version of an on-air radio show script. I do not foresee any future problems except for the scheduling problems my group faces while trying to meet up.
Overall, I feel that our plan is going good. Every group member is lending a helping hand and doing his/her part. We all are passionately interested in the zombie topic and would like to receive a good grade on the project.
In conclusion, recommendations I suggest for my group is that we work harder to set a specific schedule and stick to it. Secondly, I feel that the instructor could give us more pointers on how to make our project better.

JOB? MONEY!! :)

In today's economy, finding a job is hard work. Many companies are suffering major wages and are not hiring new workers. As a biological sciences major at the University of Southern Mississippi, I have done research searching for new, potential job opportunities and internship opportunities. After doing extensive research and searching online databases, I have found four potential jobs/internships that I feel I qualify for and that I would potentially be interested in. These four potential jobs/internships include shadowing a pharmacist at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, pharmacy technician here in Hattiesburg, biology tutor, and The Home Depot. The first three listings are all related in my field of biology/pre-pharmacy. The last one is not really related, but I'm still interested.  The shadowing program at UMMC involves shadowing a pharmacist/physician for 10 weeks. It includes assisting the professional in daily routine activities. The volunteer gets firsthand experience with the doctors. Interested candidates should visit http://mca.umc.edu/HealthCareers/HealthCareersDevelopmentProgram.html. The pharmacy technician postion is available at the Wesley Hospital here in Hattiesburg. Information can be found at http://www.job.com/my.job/jobdisplay/page=jobview/pt=2/key=78292924/. Another potential job is a biology tutor for students. This job includes assisting students in all aspects of biology. The potential candidate must possess an advanced amount of knowledge in biology. More information about this job can be found at http://chs.taleo.net/careersection/10001/jobdetail.ftl?lang=en&job=715126&sre=JB-12080. Last, I feel that a job working at The Home Depot will be a pretty good experience. This information can be found at http://www.career-hound.com/jobs/register.jsp?kw0=mmwwlihjhrrim&job=home+depot&cib=484&SID=5460553.
I have many skills, accomplishments, and experiences that I feel can contribute to me getting one of these postions. I have good communication skills, problem-solving skills, communication skills, and logic/reasoning skills. In addition, I am a Jubilee scholar. I have been on the Dean's List (3.5 GPA or better). In addition, I am a L.N. Payton HeadStart volunteer and an Oseola McCarty volunteer. I can demonstrate that I possess these skills by incorporating them into my resume and cover letter. I feel that this can most definitely give me an upper-hand with the competition. I think my communication skills will definitely play a major part with the Home Depot job. Effective communication will be key when persuading customers to buy the products.
The job that I find the most interesting and that I would like to pursue is the pharmacy technician position. I chose this one because I feel that it will prepare me the best for my ultimate goal of becoming a pharmacist. Even since I was a child, I have always dreamed of becoming a pharmacist. They make a lot of money and get to help their community at the same time.  Also, I feel that it would be a fun environment to work in. Fellow employees and I would have to work as a team, and I love being a team player. In addition, knowledge in biology/chemistry plays a major part in pharmacy. This would be a good point to add to my resume. I also have a pharmacy technician license. This would most definitely showcase that I'm qualified for the job and that I have a real interest in performing it. If I fully equip myself while creating my resume and cover letter, I am confident that I will get this job.

Professional Correspondence

To: T. Leoni, Manager, Personnel Department
From: Donald Pryzblo, Manager, Data Processing Department
Subject: INCORRECT PAYROLL CHECKS

Hello! Because I am passionate about my job, I have been reviewing various errors in the computer files. It is an important point to note that most of these errors were made by your desk clerks. I do not feel that it is fair that my workers are being blamed. Because of your workers incorrect procedure and performance, time tickets are proving to be wrong. Following proper procedures is very important in companies these days. They can allow the company to witness massive success. I'm aware that you would like for my workers to redo the work that your employees performed incorrectly. Honestly, we do not have the time to do this. In addition, our company does not have the funds needed to hire additional help. I recommend that you tell your clerks to review their work carefully before giving it to the computer operators.

When e-mailing people, it is very important to be direct and straight to the point; especially when dealing with problems such as incorrect procedures in a job. I made a few changes to the original e-mail. The first change I made was that I started out by simply saying "Hello". It is the proper and polite gesture to make. The second change I made was that I explained how passionate I was about my job. It's important to show the individual that you are all about your business and that you care. Next, I arranged the words in a different order so that it came across more friendly. I tried to stress the importance of proper procedures and the success that it could bring to the company. Last, I stated why hiring additional help was not a good idea. This is also a good point. Hiring  additional help will cause the company to suffer a major loss. I feel that these revisions will prove to be more effective in persuading T. Leoni to get his workers on the right track. My goal in this revision was to set a friendlier tone and provide statements for why proper procedures needed to be followed.

Will That Work?

Brochures are used to persuade people each and every day. They range from colorful to colorless, broad to specific, and interesting to boring. After browsing through about ten web pages dealing with "excellenet biological science departments", I stumbled across Arizona State University. Not only do they have an arts and sciences department, they also divide it into 3 more departments: College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, and School of Letters and Sciences. Also, the web site talks about the faculty members there who have made a major impact in the biology world. These impacts include a Nobel Laureate winner, Pulitzer Prize winner, and some NSF Early Career awardees. This website can be viewed at http://artsandsciences.asu.edu/. It lists many different quotes from famous philosophers and bright pictures. One example is "Out of intense complexities intense simplicities emerge" -Winston Churchill. In my opinion, this is a major strength of this website. It also describes numerous organizations on campus that I could possibly get involved in if I was to choose this school. Clearly, one can tell that the intended audience is prospective students and undecided majors. In addition, it describes the work environment and career fields. On the other hand, one of the worst online web pages that I found dealing with "excellent biological sciene departments" was the University of Nebraska Kearney. This web page was only one page in length and included only a small amount of pictures. Therefore, it is safe to say that this web page was boring and that I feel that they do a poor job in recruiting people to their program. This may account for the school being really small and not targeting a large amount of prospective students. This web page can be found at http://www.unk.edu/nss/biology.aspx?id=1224. In my opinion, this web page absolutely failed at its attempt to persuade people to attend or better yet, even visit the University of Nebraska Kearney's campus. They did not effectively use the online resource available and decided to be broad and boring instead of specific and interesting.
After viewing both a good and a bad example of a online web brochure, I have thought of a good way to create mine. I will be writing a brochure about the biological sciences program at the University of Southern Mississippi. My purpose will be to persuade them that it is an excellent program and that they should attend school here. I desire that they look further into it, maybe schedule a visit, and ultimately, choose USM as their place of study. My targeted (primary) readers are prospective students and undecided majors.  The key questions my reader will ask is: "Why should I choose this place?", "What networking opportunities can I gain from this?", and "What would my salary be?" My reader will use the information I provided to take USM as a consideration for attendance and to schedule a potential campus visit. I would like for my intended audience to have a passionate attitude toward biology just as I do. As for as their attitude towards me, I would like for my audiene to view me as an intelligent lady who knows what she is talking about and who has a bright future ahead of her.

I Have To Read That???

As a Biological Sciences major, we are often assigned many articles, journals, books, and lab manuals to read. During my first semester of my sophomore year, we had to read and perform lab experiments for my Chemistry 107 class. I took the class once a week from 2:30-5:05. The book was entitled "Chemistry II Lab Manual" by Tina Masterson.
The lab manual included roughly around twenty different lab experiments for us to perform. These experiments included titrations, solution preparation, melting/boiling points, and solubility. Each experiment varied in the amount of time taken to complete each one. While most of the experiments took the entire two and a half hours to complete, some took only an hour and a half. In the manual, Mrs. Masterson is discussing many of the areas that make up the chemistry world today. As previously stated, many of these areas include titrations, solution preparation, melting/boiling points, and solubility. Because I took many biology classes in high school and my freshman year of college, I am pretty knowledgable when it comes to biology and chemistry.  The motivation behind the creation of this lab manual was to teach students the proper techniques and procedures behind performing certain experiments in a lab setting. There are many things to consider when reading this lab manual and performing the experiments. One of the major issues is health/safety. During these experiments, many toxic chemicals and reagants are used so it is very wise to take all necessary precautions. The first safety rule is that one must always wear safety goggles while in the lab. In addition, if any toxic chemical touches the skin, the first thing one should do is wash the surface with tap water.
As previously stated, the author's name is Tina Masterson. She is over the chemistry department here at the University of Southern Mississippi. She is a really smart and nice lady. She is always in the chemistry tutor ceneter willing to lend a helping hand to anyone who is having trouble with their work. Her purpose of writing this manual is to ensure that her students are following proper directions and learning about chemistry in the proper manner. I know this because Mrs. Masterson is a very passionate person and knows quite a lot of information about chemistry. The intended audience for the Chemistry II Lab Manual is anyone who may be interested in chemistry or students who are enrolled in the course. Directly, Mrs. Masterson is targeting one certain group of people. That group of people is the chemistry students here at Southern Miss. Because of the language used in this manual, Mrs. Masterson is assuming that the students using the manual have a chemistry background and already have a basis with the chemistry concept. She uses terms that people outside of the discourse community of chemistry students may not know about. These terms include flasks, beakers, and burets. Her tone is strong and very direct.
In my opinion, the writer did an excellent job in writing the lab manual. Her directions were very easy to understand and follow. They led to a very successful  and fun lab experience. However, one improvement that could have been made is that she could have taken out some of the steps in certain experiments because they were very repetitive. Overall, the Chemistry II Lab Manual was a success, and I received a B in the class. :)